In the movie the "Big" Lebowski seemed to have all the makings of a very rich man, but it all turned out to be a fraud, the appearance of his wealth turned out to be a facade. His huge home and expensive rugs indicated nothing close to the tune of poverty. For the last forty years America has been "Big" Lebowski. Our perceived wealth has been credit driven and the collapse of that system bought the 2008-2009 recession to our doorsteps.
Who was to blame for Big Lebowski's financial problems? Himself of course. How did he get there? I will not speculate on the reasons for a fictional character's financial demise. However, I will theorize how America has gotten to this point.
We are all not as rich as we behave. Yes our GDP rises every year but more and more of that wealth has been going to a small percentage of people. I am not arguing on whether this proceeding is ethical or not, but that's just the way things are. The problem comes when we live beyond our means, knowingly and unknowingly, and drown ourselves in debt. This rings true for both financial institutions, who were caught with their pants down leveraging their assets beyond reasonable limits, and families who mortgaged homes that were a hundred or two hundred thousand dollars more than what they could afford. But just as in the case of Big Lebowski the truth is always exposed. For us the shit hit the fan, everyone was affected, and hopefully we have learned our lesson. But we know as much about our future behavior as we do of Big Lebowski's future when the movie wrapped. So for us in real life, I guess we have to wait and see.
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